Bad Clams

There's lots of hand-wringing lately about clamshell roofs and Arthur Erickson's legacy. Erickson without question has firmly established himself as Vancouver's preeminent architect. I'm not sure if we should love everything he's done, however. Even he must have had a V8-style moment, slapping his forehead and crying, what the hell was I thinking?

There's the 'Waffle Iron' at Georgia and Thurlow. I've read there are few buildings that look so depressing in a Vancouver rain storm. Arthur's favourite building material clearly is concrete, judging by his iconic SFU campus building, the Waffle Iron and Robson Square among many others.

If I'm reading between the lines correctly, the issue with the portion of Robson Square they want to cover is water. Rain on crowds or leaks in the walls, I'm not sure what the motivation is. We know the caulking gun has been used more than a few times on the glass roof over the courthouse. It doesn't seem to matter, according to critics a roof over Robson Street is an expensive desecration of Erickson's design.
Trevor Boddy weighs in with this comment in the Globe and Mail (thanks, Gord, for the link)

The area between VAG and Georgia is the only portion of Mr. Erickson's three-block-long scheme that was never completed. His concept here was for a largely hard-surfaced central plaza — adapting itself readily to multiple uses, ranging from concerts to demos to ethnic fairs — greened at the edges along Howe and Hornby Streets with double alleys of mature trees and brimming planters. One of the scheme's more ingenious ideas was an in-ground fountain at centre, permitting the waterworks to be turned off and on depending on each day's planned activities. What's best, completing Arthur Erickson's conception would cost substantially less than the $87-million for radical surgery and extraneous re-padding currently awaiting cabinet approval.

Okay, let's think about this. Bring in the hard surface and the nifty fountain/water park to dress up Georgia street. Sure, it would be an improvement. The current fountain in the square holds a third rate sculpture (Vancouver has too many of those) with water pouring on it. The grass on the square is in constant need of repair especially after crowds (usually protests, less often celebrations) depart.

But the northern exposure of the square, and imposing height of the VAG/Courthouse makes it less appealing as a public gathering space. Part of the appeal of Robson Square is that it faces south, is open, and you can get a suntan there during your lunch break. I'd argue that Boddy's idea is not a solution to the problem that Robson Square presents.

It all reminds me of a discussion that keeps coming up with friends and colleagues. Vancouver desperately needs public squares to gather, to meet, to celebrate, and yes, to protest. They need to be downtown, and on the east, west and south side of town. They need to be built to suit our climate, without becoming magnets for crime or creating other problems for surrounding communities.

It could be that a clam has helped to kick off that debate.

Bad clam trivia: Anyone remember the old Saturday Night Live sketch, Bad Clams? Garrett Morris played a host of a morning broadcast based out of Baltimore. Gilda Radner played a gravel-throated Lucille Ball, who was on the show to plug some event she was hosting in Maryland. After an innocuous interview Garrett says, "Now it's time to eat the bad clams." Lucy/Gilda grudgingly begins to woof down a bowl of rancid clams, crying Lucy-style: whaaaa. Gawd I wish this was on YouTube.